PHI 103 Informal Logic

For further information, review the document Presenting Arguments in Standard Form.

Arguments in Sources

Take a look at the following list of topics for your final paper: List of Suggested Topics. Choose a topic of interest to you, for which you feel you could create a strong argument on both sides. You will be using this topic for all three of your papers in this course.

Find one source that presents a view on one side of the topic you chose. Your source here does not have to be scholarly, but perhaps an article that you find in a newspaper or on the internet. Present the main argument made by the source. Make sure to put the argument in standard form, with the premises listed above the conclusion.

Without taking sides on the issue, explain whether you feel that the source provides the strongest representation of the reasoning on that side of the issue. Consider the following questions in your initial post:

• How clearly was the argument expressed within this source?
• What more could be done to strengthen the reasoning in this source?
• What might one do to objectively understand the issue?
• a minimum of 50 words

Example: Argument in standard from:
P1. If the earth wasn’t flat, then the curvature of the earth would be visible in the distance.

P2. There is no curvature visible to partially block the cityscape approximately 16 miles away.

C. Therefore, the earth is flat.

What the complete response to this discussion would look like:

TOPIC: Is the Earth flat? 

In support of the idea that the Earth is flat, rapper B.o.B (2016) tweeted, “The cities in the background are approx. 16miles apart… where is the curve ? please explain this,” along with a picture of himself on a mountain top with a cityscape in the far distance. In standard form, his argument would be:

P1. If the earth wasn’t flat, then the curvature of the earth would be visible in the distance.

P2. There is no curvature visible to partially block the cityscape approximately 16 miles away.

C. Therefore, the earth is flat.

B.o.B’s statement of the argument is somewhat clear. He explicitly stated the premise based on his experience, that looking the city approximately 16 miles away his view was not blocked in any way by a curvature of the Earth. His question, “Where is the curve?” indicates he expects to find one that would indicate the Earth is spherical. The argument leaves unstated the connection between the Earth being spherical (i.e., not flat) and the curve being visible as well as the conclusion that the Earth is flat.

To make his argument clearer, he would have had to explicitly state the relationship between the curve not being visible in the photograph and the Earth being flat as well as stating his conclusion. Providing these details in his statement would have given the reader all of the relevant information needed to evaluate the relationship between the premises and his conclusion. Given the picture, B.o.B’s claim that the curve is not visible from 16 miles away (Premise 2) is believable and lends some support to the conclusion. For the first premise, however, additional information is needed. The reader would have to know and evaluate whether the curve of the Earth’s surface should be visible at a distance of 16 miles given the planet’s size.

As stated, it would be necessary to know at what distance, relative to the size of the Earth, its curvature, if it existed, would be visible to humans. Based on that information, B.o.B’s (2016) argument that the curve not being visible at 16 miles proving the Earth is flat could be properly evaluated. Additionally, the limitations of human vision (i.e., how far humans can see) might also be relevant for evaluating this argument. This information may indicate if it is even possible for humans standing on the planet to observe the cure. If not, this argument, as stated by B.o.B. (2016) would fail. With this information, the topic question, “Is the Earth flat?,” might properly be answered.

References

B.o.B. (2016, January 24). The cities in the background are approx. 16miles apart… where is the curve ? please explain this [Twitter post]. Retrieved fromhttps://twitter.com/bobatl/status/691411463051804676 (Links to an external site.)

The purpose of this assignment is to conduct a comparison on different research designs to better understand their designs and application. Understanding the different types of research design is important so that nurses can effectively apply evidence-based research into practice to address issues and offer better patient care.

You will utilize your approved nursing practice problem to complete the evidence-based practice project proposal assignments for this course and NUR-590, during which you will synthesize all of the sections into a final written paper detailing your evidence-based practice project proposal.

Conduct a literature search on your approved nursing practice problem. Find two translational research articles, one quantitative article, and one qualitative article. Using the “Translational Research Graphic Organizer,” present your proposed topic and, in the tables provided, compare one translational study to the quantitative study, and one translational study to the qualitative study.

Refer to the “Evidence-Based Practice Project Proposal – Assignment Overview” document for an overview of the evidence-based practice project proposal assignments.

You are required to cite four peer-reviewed sources to complete this assignment. Sources must be published within the last 5 years and appropriate for the assignment criteria and nursing content.

While APA style is not required for the body of this assignment, solid academic writing is expected, and documentation of sources should be presented using APA formatting guidelines, which can be found in the APA Style Guide, located in the Student Success Center.

This assignment uses a rubric. Please review the rubric prior to beginning the assignment to become familiar with the expectations for successful completion.

The Assignment:

In figure 5-4(c) of our text, the celebrated Phillips curve is depicted.  Discuss its meaning as it relates to wages and unemployment.  Be sure to take advantage of the Tips & Hints and supplemental resources provided.

Respond to at least two of your classmates’ postings.

What Success Looks Like:

Be careful with this one!  This question is deceptively tricky! The question does not ask you to just describe the graph and its axes!  If you merely repeat the definition from the text, you will get minimal credit!  There is much more here and this ties into this week’s Problem Set.  The question does ask you to describe the relation of the variables and the way in which a relationship may be misleading because of the limitations of its sample period… and because the underlying hypothesis was incomplete.  (As a hint, keep in mind that this chapter is about multivariate regression.)

Please be sure to:
1)  Answer the question asked,
2)  Answer all the parts of the question asked,
3)  Proofread your essay for spelling and grammar.

Please note that you will receive the minimum credit (“Below Expectations”) if you merely repeat the definition of the Phillips curve!  We are economists, not parrots!

Discussion 2 addresses a very important concept from economics… which is also often rather misunderstood.  I’ll provide more elaboration on the Philips curve as we progress, but in the meantime:

1) Discuss the meaning of the Philips curve “…as it relates to wages and unemployment.”  What does the Philips curve explain?  And why was it believed to explain it?  It is not enough to simply say that it shows some sort of relationship between wages and unemployment!  You must look deeper!  You need to provide more detail than that. 

As a clue, this Week is all about figuring out whether or not you have enough variables or not.  As another clue, the Philips curve as postulated in the 1960s is an example of correlation not being causation!  The trade-off postulated by Philips does not exist!  Why?  Well, back to my clue, maybe there is another variable that should be considered.  This discussion rewards research, on the internet or elsewhere.

The Phillips Curve demonstrates that bad economics can be politically popular… and economically disastrous.  Although American politicians especially took comfort in the Phillips Curve as they attempted to manage employment and inflation in the ’60’s, they were entirely flummoxed when the economy entered “stagflation” in the ’70’s.  In stagflation, unemployment and inflation were both high.  The “misery index” (unemployment rate added to inflation rate) was created to gauge the pain of this situation.  

The inability of the Carter Administration to master this apparent paradox provided Ronald Reagan with some of his most compelling rhetoric and set the stage for President Reagan’s election in 1980.  When I was an undergrad, economists believed that stagflation could only be conquered through a protracted depression or perhaps not at all… probably proving that they were smarter than they were useful.  Interestingly, the limited period examined by the text (as analyzed by the British economist responsible for this eponymous curve) perhaps inadvertently shows how one can reach a flawed conclusion from history if one does not look at enough of the history… and that correlation indeed does not imply causation!

You can watch a splendid animation of the Phillips Curve (Links to an external site.) (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. as it evolved from 1961 to 1987.  You can also download the slides (Links to an external site.) (Links to an external site.)  (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.from the corresponding undergraduate macroeconomics lecture at Carnegie Mellon University (just follow the re-direct and you will find yourself at a webpage that will provide you with a variety of interesting options).

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Thompson, P. (2011). Inflation and Unemployment. 88-301 Intermediate Economics, CarnegieMellonUniversity. Retrieved on May 8. 2011 from http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.andrew.cmu.edu/course/88-301/phillips/phillips_curve.gif&imgrefurl=http://www.andrew.cmu.edu/course/88-301/phillips/phillips.html&h=300&w=400&sz=50&tbnid=Y2Q9CFtDWRxdMM:&tbnh=93&tbnw=124&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dphillips%2Bcurve%26tbm%3Disch%26tbo%3Du&zoom=1&q=phillips+curve&hl=en&usg=__PStVhW9uxt6jS95Szv49oIcz4OE=&sa=X&ei=fSXHTaDzCaXv0gHtj_GxCA&sqi=2&ved=0CEEQ9QEwAg

You have been hired as the CSO (Chief Security Officer) for an organization. Your job is to develop a computer and internet security policy for the organization that covers the following areas:

• Computer and email acceptable use policy
• Internet acceptable use policy
• Password protection policy

Make sure you are sufficiently specific in addressing each area. There are plenty of security policy and guideline templates available online for you to use as a reference or for guidance. Your plan should reflect the business model and corporate culture of a specific organization that you select. 

 **** Include at least 3 scholarly references in addition to the course textbook.  

Your paper should meet the following requirements:

• Be approximately four to six pages in length, Use Calibri, 11 pt not including the required cover page and reference page. Try dividing your paper into section with section headers.

• Follow APA7 guidelines. Your paper should include an introduction, a body with fully developed content, and a conclusion. 

• Support your answers with the readings from the course and at least three scholarly journal articles to support your positions, claims, and observations, in addition to your textbook. The UC Library is a great place to find resources.

• Be clearly and well-written, concise, and logical, using excellent grammar and style techniques. You are being graded in part on the quality of your writing.

The majority of the data is normally distributed if there are enough subjects. For instance, if you collected test scores of only a few honor students, the data will most likely not be normally distributed because you would have a sample that did not represent the entire population. But the identical test scores (for honor students) collected from all schools in a state will result in a normal distribution.

Identify an example of a population that you would expect to be normally distributed. Explain why you believe it would be normally distributed. Then, describe a subset of the population you identified and explain why it would not be normally distributed and what the distribution would look like.

Justify your answers with appropriate reasoning and research from your textbook and course readings. Start reviewing and responding to at least two of your classmates as early in the week as possible. You can ask technical questions or respond generally to the overall experience. Be honest, clear, and concise. Always use constructive language, even in criticism, to work toward the goal of positive progress. Using questions and seeking clarifications are good ways to make your reviews substantive!

Submission Details:

• Post your response to the Discussion Areaby the due date assigned. Respond to at least two posts by the end of the week.